EU Anti-Dumping Sanctions Benefit Taiwan Makers

TAIPEI, Taiwan (Sep 7) – After the European Union imposed anti-dumping duties on bicycles imported from China and Vietnam, the top three bicycle makers in Taiwan, including Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Merida Industry Co., Ltd., and Ideal Bike Corp., were forced to modify their short-term strategies for the European market. They expanded the capacities at their European facilities while all the three companies' plants in China have stopped shipping products to Europe. In response to the EU's high tariff on bicycles produced in China and Vietnam, Giant's spokesman and special assistant to the company's administration department, Hsu Li-chung, says that his company has planned to transfer its contract orders for mid-range bicycle models from Vietnam to suppliers in Taiwan, or to even cease supplying such models to European customers, and instead concentrate on producing high-end models at its Taiwan plant. Giant's other choice is, Hsu adds, to upgrade the capacity of its European plant in the Netherlands and let it supply some mid-range models for the European market. Giant is carefully evaluating the best strategy, the spokesman says. A senior Merida official points out that his company has decided to immediately stop contracting with a Vietnamese supplier producing 100,000 bicycles per year for the European market. To take up the slack, Merida will soon start local manufacturing at its plant in Taiwan by integrating bicycle frames made by the company's China plant with parts supplied by local companies. He stresses that models produced in Taiwan under such a production mode will still remain competitive in the European market. Ideal maintains a production plant in Poland and also ships bicycles to Europe from its plant in Taiwan. The company thus is not expected to suffer the impact of the EU's increased anti-dumping tariff rates. Ideal is planning to install a new bicycle-assembly line at its Taiwan facility with a monthly capacity of about 10,000 units.